MANHATTAN, Mont. — A Manhattan middle school field trip to Bridger Bowl took an unexpected turn last Friday when Principal Mary Fulp began behaving erratically in front of students and staff.
Superintendent Brian Ayers confirmed that first responders removed Fulp from the ski resort. She has been placed on administrative leave for the remainder of the school year. Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer confirmed she was placed in protective custody and taken to a hospital.
Part of the incident was captured on Facebook Live and has since circulated in various online spaces. The video shows concerning behavior that Ayers said left students confused and frightened.
“This is very troubling to see someone that they looked up to every day behaving like this and not understanding what is going on,” Ayers said.
Rumors have continued swirling on social media in the aftermath. Ayers said the rumor that Fulp put a student in a headlock is not true.
“I’ve spoken with that student’s parents; I’ve spoken with that student. I’ve even spoken with law enforcement. That did not happen,” he said.
The district has responded by providing counseling support and therapy dogs earlier this week. Teachers are checking in regularly with students who witnessed the incident. Ayers said so far, they are hearing students are doing better than he would have expected.
“We just encourage our parents to touch base with your child. How did their day go? And, you know, if there’s any input that can be shared with us, please share it, because we want to make sure we’re meeting the needs of all of our kids,” he said.
Jason Beals, a Manhattan parent who did not have a child on the field trip, expressed concerns about Fulp potentially returning to work with students.
“I am very concerned of her coming back and being around children, and having another episode, like what had happened on Friday,” he said.
According to Ayers, Fulp disclosed a legal case from Alaska during the hiring process. Reporting from the Alaska Beacon indicates Fulp was falsely detained for a mental health examination, which she argued violated her religious beliefs.
Ayers said they looked into the case, and the district conducted extensive background checks in line with Montana state law before moving forward with her candidacy.
“We did extensive vetting on her because she asked us to because she wanted to make sure we were aware and didn’t subject ourselves to not knowing the past and then having people ask us, ‘How did you not know?’” Ayers said.
“We made a determination based off of that vetting that we could interview her. And we did a full interview with a panel of all stakeholders, board members, parents. We had students on the panel, and she was our clear choice to go to the board and recommend,” he added.
The Manhattan School District is working to schedule a board meeting to select an interim principal. Ayers says parents with concerns are encouraged to contact him directly.